I Met My Love Before I was Born
by Julianna Tala
Summary: We all know the first time Garrett and Kayley met was in the Forbidden Forest, but what if that wasn't the first time they met. What if they met before Sir Lionel's death, and before Garrett was blinded? Read and find out! 1st of my Multi-Fandom 100 Themes Challenge.


**I know that I should be working on my other stories, and I am! It's just that...THIS...LITTLE...KNICH...was begging to be written. I'm hopping to do this in a series challenge that was posted on DA. This is the first of many miscellanea stories and fandoms that I will cover! Plus I always wondered if Kayley and Garrett ever met before, and so this little story baby was born.**

**Please remeber that if you're ever in the DeviantArt website, look me up I'm under the same pen name! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Quest for Camelot, the film is copyright protected by Warner Brothers, yada yada yaday.**

**Queue opening music...**

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_1. Introduction_

After Excalibur was pulled from the stone and the coronation of the boy-king Arthur, the construction of Camelot had finally ended after a little more than a year. And with that come the full blow effects of the retrieval of Excalibur and the new king, the completion of Camelot, and the union of the segregated lands conjoined into one massive celebration which lasted for three days and three nights.

On the fourth day, the boy-king Arthur had gathered the greatest warriors of noble background and gave each of them the title 'Knight'; and thus came to be Knights of the Round Table. Soon enough after a few court settlings and clan disputes, it became clear as to who became the King's right hand man and leader of the knights: Sir Lionel of Longshore*. With his strong sense of duty, loyalty, and honor to and for Camelot and its King, it was seen as no wonder for him to be name leading knight of the Table.

Now about four months later, the festival of the Winter Solstice was to take place to not only serve as a familial greeting between King and families of the knights but to mark the first celebration with Camelot as a whole. But to two families, that day would also come to mean so much more….

_Scene change to the courtyard of the castle…._

The preparations for the festivities were well underway. Men from both the countryside and from the knighthood were helping the women setup tables, banners, and other things for the Winter Solstice festival. Children ran through the streets chasing one another, mindful of the horses that carried the wagons and families in them.

Among those families was Sir Lionel, riding alongside a wagon that was being driven by his farmhand, a young lad by the name of Liam. Lionel signaled for Liam to follow him towards castle's stables that ran alongside the walls of the castle. An old but broad man who was sweeping the dirt and hay away from the hut's entrance when he looked up to see the knight steady his horse to stop. As age seemed to have caught up to the stable head, his laugh never lost its ability to boom with vitality as he walked up to the dismounting knight. "Well, if it isn't the King's right hand himself. Tell me, what privilege do I have to honor Sir Lionel himself to grace me at my humble stables?"

"Nay, it is I who has the honor to grace an old friend!" Sir Lionel replied as the two locked forearms in a brotherly greeting. "How are you doing this fine and clear day Ambrose?"

The man Ambrose snorted as a cold wind brushed its icy hands past them. "If you mean by cold and freezing day, I'm doing as fine as an old bull. Though I'll be happier when the spring comes back around."

"Too true my friend." Lionel agreed as he gestured towards the wagon next to his horse. "I was hoping that I would take up on your offer on boarding my mount and wagon oxen here for the festival."

Both watched as the young men stepped down to began the wagon.

Ambrose moved to help the lad. "Considered it taken, my friend," He began to unlatch the mouth bits from the reins as he continued talking. "I hear that you and your wife have been blessed with a little daughter. Tell me, how does it go for being a new father?"

"He has taken to it as a bird takes to the sky." A new voice answered, causing Ambrose to look up from his work.

He bowed respectfully to young mother who held the swaddled bundle close to her heart. "A beauteous sight I ever have the glimpse of sharing, Lady Juliana." He moved closer to woman, lifting her hand to bestow a gentleman's kiss. "I swear to the Sisters, Motherhood has made you into a celestial image."

Indeed the young mother seemed to radiate from her despite the cold temperatures and wind. Her chestnut hair was fashionably pulled back to show her clear blue eyes and a smile that was filled to the brim with nothing but joy and love. "I thank you for compliment, Ambrose. You always knew what words to say."

"A gift of the gab I must admit." Ambrose chuckled. "Now, if it isn't too much to ask," He questioned, scratching the back of his neck, "may I see the little angel?"

Lady Juliana made no hesitation as she shifted the bundle to lie in her arms, moving the cloth ever so slightly to show a little cherub's face as it stretched bit from her nap. Light brown unfocused eyes blinked at the new face and surrounding as the babe cooed.

Ambrose lightly caressed a thumb across the babe's forehead and the light dusting of dark mahogany hair. "She's a beautiful little one, just like her mother."

Sir Lionel came up behind his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist and lightly caressing his daughter's head. "Her name is to be Kayley and we're hoping if King Arthur and Merlin were to bless her."

"I'm sure they will, Lionel." Ambrose moved back to grab the unharnessed oxen by the reins, "Oddly enough, I've also been saddled with a new little lad. Garrett, come and greet our guests!" He boomed to the stable house, and sure enough a small boy with dusty blond hair, blue eyes and thick clothing came running out to his grandfather.

"Yes grandfather?" The boy asked, looking up from his small size to the tall knight in front of him.

Ambrose knelt down to his grandson's height. "Now Garrett, these are very good friends of mine, Sir Lionel and his wife Lady Juliana. And Lionel this is my grandson Garrett. He just reached his five year mark around half a moon cycle ago."

As Ambrose stood back up to dust his pants, Lionel knelt down to the boy. "Nice to meet you Garrett," He shook his hand and offered a smile, "I hope we can become good friends."

The young boy looked down shyly before looking back up to ask, "Grandfather said you are a knight. You're not like that mean knight from before are you?"

Lionel looked at Garrett confusingly before looking to Ambrose.

"We had a run-in earlier this day at the market with one of the knights. Sir Ruber, I believe it was. Anyway the boy took off while my back was turned and accidentally ran into him. Nearly frightened the boy when Sir Ruber reprimanded him." Ambrose gravely answered.

Lionel turned back to Garrett with a fatherly smile. "No Garrett I'm not like the knight you met earlier. A lot of the knights are actually good men. Some who have little boys of their own. Now then, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

That certainly brightened his spirit a bit. "Of course! What is it?" He asked in innocent excitement.

"I was wondering if you could help my wife in showing her inside the stable house. It's too cold for her and the baby to out here and they need someplace warm to rest." He looked up to his wife with a smile and Garrett followed his gaze.

The boy only nodded with enthusiasm as he accepted his appointed task. "Yes sir. I'll do it." He walked towards Lady Juliana and offered her a small hand. "Come with me, Lady?"

Juliana couldn't help but smile at the little lad and his hospitality, as Lionel came around and kissed her. "Let me unbridle my horse. You go and rest with Kayley near the fire."

She could only smile at the thoughtfulness of her husband and rewarded him with small kiss of her own. "Of course, my love. Thank you." She took the little boy's hand as Lionel kissed Kayley on her little forehead which caused her to giggle.

Both men watched as Juliana was led into the house before Ambrose started to talk. "Garrett is a good lad but still too young for any stable work save for handling the hay and feed."

"I figured as much." Lionel concurred. "It's part of the reason why I asked him to take Juliana inside. Pardon my rudeness, but why is he here?"

Ambrose had turned back to lead the oxen towards the stable when he stopped. "Do you remember my son, Jacob and his wife Cassandra who lived out in the town Callanbrough?"

Lionel nodded his head as he followed Ambrose to the stables. "Yes I remember. You were complaining that Jacob should move closer to Camelot so as to his family could be closer, rather than a four-day travel."

Ambrose led each ox to their stall. "Yes well, I had received a letter from him awhile back, roughly three moons ago, asking if I could take the boy for a few weeks. It seemed that Cassandra caught a very nasty illness that was spreading through the town and Jacob didn't want Garrett catching it. Of course I wrote back, saying that I would love to have him with me in Camelot and the next day I was riding out. Once I had gotten there though, it became a different story."

Lionel had put down the saddle he was carrying onto a wooden saddle mount when he saw a solemnly look take his friend's face, something that seemed out of place for the proud giant. "The majority of the townspeople had gotten sick with the illness and several of the elders had already passed because of it. Thankfully it had spared many of the younger folks and the children had merely the touch of fever. Nothing that medicine couldn't fix, but by the time I had arrived it was too late. Cassandra had already passed and Jacob had caught the illness and died a day before I arrived. The townspeople had already arranged for the both of them to be buried there and Cassandra didn't have any living relatives so it only made sense for me to take the boy."

Lionel just shook his head. "That is tragic. I can't imagine what the boy must have seen."

"I talked to him about it. All he said was that mother went to sleep and never woke up and father did the same. Truthfully, I don't think Garrett really knows what death is." Ambrose had tied off the front of the stalls that held the oxen and walked back to where Lionel was brushing the horse's side.

"He might not. Boys around his age don't fully grasp the fact that once someone dies, they are not coming back." Lionel admitted.

"That's true. I could barely remember what I did when I was five." Ambrose admitted wistfully before ducking the tail brush that was thrown at him.

"What a load of it." Lionel called out jokingly. "You could barely remember your own wedding anniversary; let alone what you were doing as a little scamp."

"Oi! Better a scamp any day rather than farm boy." Ambrose threw back. From there the two men talked, reminisced, and fought like any good friends would.

_Inside the hut_

Lady Juliana was resting in a comfortable chair that was close to the fireplace, letting her daughter kick and squirm about in her lap but with a protecting hand supporting her baby's head. She looked to see Garrett offering her some hot tea. "Thank you," she took the cup with a gentle smile, drinking the relaxing brew before putting the cup on a nearby table. She noticed that the young boy's eyes never left her daughter as she continued waving her tiny fists in the air. "Would you like to say hello?"

Garrett looked to Juliana in surprise, a bit of red coloring his cheeks as if he just got caught with his hand in cookie jar, but he couldn't help himself from moving closer to the mother and child. "What's her name?" He asked as he lifted a hand towards the baby girl.

Juliana couldn't help but smile as Kayley reached up to the hand that was coming closer to her, that tiny hand gripping a finger with all her little might. "Her name is Kayley. She's saying to hi to you already."

Kayley let out a sound that was between a gurgle and a laugh as she seemed wave the finger that was still in her hand back and forth. Now for Garrett being the little boy that he was, he couldn't quite understand what it was about the tiny girl in front of him that made him smile and make his heart continuously jump. "She's so tiny…"he mused.

"Everyone starts out this small when they are born." Juliana explained in a motherly tone. "Your mother probably that you were small too, when you were born."

Garrett all of sudden let out a hiss and pulled back his finger. It seemed that Kayley got bored with waving his finger around and decided to bend the finger back at an unnatural angle.

Garrett tried his best to glare at the innocent baby who was now staring at him with wide eyes. "That hurt!" Those same eyes then filled with tears and her lip quivered before she started crying, letting fat tears roll down from her eyes. Poor Garrett, he did what any normal boy would do…..freak out a bit. "What happened? Was it something I did?"

Juliana chuckled a bit before bouncing and shushing the crying baby. "No. She's alright. You just startled her a bit is all. There, there." She cooed to the Kayley as her cries were becoming quieter and quieter. Some sniffling was heard before Kayley became quiet again. "I hope she didn't hurt you badly. She doesn't know any better." She wiped a few stray tears from Kayley's eyes before turning to Garrett. "Do you want to try holding her?"

Garrett's head snapped again. "I-I don't know how to…"

Juliana scooted over in her chair bit and patted the empty space. Garrett took it as his cue to sit next to her and climbed up onto the chair. As he situated himself, Juliana had gently handed him Kayley, instructing him on how to hold her, support her head, and hold her close.

Wide eyes with child-like innocence stared back at each other, either of them not letting up on the other. Garrett was the first one to speak. "Now what do I do?" He asked Juliana.

"Now you talk to her. It can be about anything. She likes to hear other people's voices." She answered, watching the boy handle her daughter like a delicate glass sculpture.

He looked down to the baby again, not sure of what to say but what was in his head, "You are going to be trouble, trouble, trouble with a capital T. I just know it. " Surprisingly enough, instead of another bout of cries, Kayley laughed as if she was being tickled by his voice. She reached both of her hands to him and he couldn't help but smile and offer his hand again to those outreached little hands. "But I wouldn't change it for anything in the world." He mentioned softly, watching as the little girl played with his hand like it was a new discovery and snuggled closer to where his heart was.

Juliana had gotten up to move some logs into the fire, her eyes never leaving the cute moment between the two children. As she heard footsteps and a door creaking, she looked up to see her husband and friend walk in and stop, both catching the two children playing with each other.

Lionel went to his wife with Ambrose following behind. "It looks as though Garrett has a new playmate."

"Yes," Juliana spoke as she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "He is very gentle with her and Kayley certainly does like him."

Ambrose decided say his input, rubbing a hand on his stubbed chin. "I wonder if it's possible to promise them to each other this early."

Lionel and Juliana looked to the man as he offered the proposal. "Ambrose, are you suggesting that we betroth Garrett and Kayley to each other?"

"Why not?" The older man questioned. "They already seem to like each other and I got a good feeling about this new friendship."

"I don't know." Juliana answered wearily. "They are still so young."

"Betrothals have been done when the parties were younger, love." Lionel said to his wife, reaching his hand up to her's in a soothing gesture. "But I agree with Juliana. I would hold off on the betrothal for now, Ambrose."

"Wait, you are saying that you don't like the idea of our family's being tied in holy matrimony, Lionel?" Ambrose gruffed out, half jokingly and the other half slight hurt.

"No. That's not what I'm saying." Lionel argued back with an arched brow and a calm tone. "Let the children grow a bit with each other as friends. More often than not, friendship has always grown into love, so let it grow with them."

"I can agree with that notion." Juliana answered as well. "In all things considering, it is not as though we can tell them that they are engaged now. Letting them grown into sounds like a reasonable course of action."

Ambrose let out a sigh of absolution. "Well, I can't really argue with that plan. Though it'd be mighty interesting to see them grow to love each other."

"It'd be more interesting if they were to be the best of friends." Juliana commented.

As all three looked on to the children, Garrett tickling Kayley on her sides and Kayley squealing and laughing up a storm, no one had inkling of thought as to how in a matter of time this happy moment would all change…and no one had a inkling as well that these two children would grow up and apart from each other, and find each other again as well as another thing: true love.

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***- I had no idea if they used surnames or went by clan names in the Medieval times or if in the movie that Sir Lionel's family had a surname so I figured that since they lived right next to the ocean, whynot Longshore...**

**I'm actually proud of how this turned out with a little glimpse of Garrett's past before he became blind and the warm fuzzy moments of Sir Lionel and his family before his death. **

**I'm planning on adding on to this so it's why I'm not labeling it as complete...yet.**

**Please review...I will post this on DA as well for everyone that doesn't have a fanfic account to enjoy!**

**PS...Spot the movie reference!**


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